Gallup: Obama’s best ratings come on foreign policy …

posted at 5:00 pm on April 2, 2011 by Ed Morrissey

Gallup’s latest poll rep0rt comes from a survey completed last weekend, before Barack Obama finally addressed the nation on his decision to attack Libya, so don’t take this as an endorsement or a refutation of his speech Monday night. Bear in mind that Americans tend to rally around Presidents during the opening phases of new military action, and that voters tend to give executives more benefit of doubt on foreign policy in general (although not always, as Gallup points out). With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see Obama score best on foreign policy and Libya in this poll — but that’s hardly good news:

Americans continue to generally rate President Barack Obama’s handling of international issues better than his handling of domestic issues. Forty-six percent approve of the president’s handling of foreign affairs and 44% his handling of Libya, while his highest rating on three domestic issues is 40% for healthcare policy.

Gallup has asked Americans about Obama’s handling of most of these issues throughout his term. While all currently rank on the low end of what Gallup has measured during his presidency, none is at its lowest point and most have been fairly stable in recent months.

He’s underwater on foreign affairs at 46/47, actually, and barely breathing on Libya at 44/44, but the numbers on domestic policy are much worse. Specifically, Obama is at 40/56 on his best domestic policy, health care, an issue that has been a traditional Democratic issue. On the economy, he’s 39/58, and on the federal budget deficit he’s down almost 2-1 at 33/61.

Not too surprisingly, this has led to Obama’s latest weekly job-approval rating of 45/47 (period ending 3/27). Support from independents has slightly declined over the last four weeks from 45% to 41%, a potential problem for Obama’s re-election chances next year. Among “pure independents,” that number drops to 29%, sharply lower than the previous week’s 40% and probably the source of the flip from 48/44 to 45/47. In short, Obama is in serious political trouble on his domestic agenda, even among surveys of general-population adults rather than registered voters, where Obama could have been expected to do better.

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At this rate he cannot lose in 2012. His 2012 re-election slogan should be “Because he is awesome”.
So many apparently believe it.

albill on April 2, 2011 at 5:51 PM

The media are 95% in support of the Obama regime and enemies of the status quo are ruthlessly attacked. See the mobs and death threats in Wisconsin and the mass media attacks on Palin.

The press clucks about repression in Syria and elsewhere but there’s very little difference between the US and Venezuela. Obama’s not actually imprisoning or killing the opposition (yet) but the liberal fascists run the media and, by extension, public opinion as much as possible.

The media in America, for the most part, exist to guarantee the power of Obama and the liberal Democrats. That’s not a free democratic society. We’re really in no position to sneer at Russia or Venezuela or any other corrupt tyranny because we’ve got almost the exact same thing here, just less violently repressive at the moment.

So why is it the “international community” favored the Muslim presidential candidate over the Infidel? Why is this not being reported as another front in the advancement of Islam and one more step paved for the worldwide caliphate? Of course Gbagbo is a thug, what African leader is not? But under Gbagbo,The Ivory Coast remained just one more tinpot leader’s backwater in a long list of corrupt backwater African countries. With Ouattara in power, a Muslim with backing from the Muslims in the northern regions of The Ivory Coast, if you think 800 killed is something, look to Darfur and what the advancement of Islam has done there…400,000 infidels killed or more, even more injured, raped, and mutilated. We are witnessing another sickened organ (The Ivory Coast) being metastasized by the cancer of Islam….with blessings (and eventual funding) from the “international” community. So I DO predict our “I will stand with the Muslims” president WILL intervene, perhaps not militarily, but backroom deals will be cut with massive payoffs to Gbagbo in exchange for an agreement to go into exile. The Obama Doctrine: Looking to maintain oppressive Islamic regimes (Iran, negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, turning our soldiers there into dhimmies) and promoting the spread of oppressive Islamic regimes (Muslim Brotherhood and Al Quaeda rise in Egypt and Libya) in anyway he can.

I think that “the Bradley effect” is in play here. His “real” poll numbers are probably 10% to 15% lower than what you see.

Pelosi delende est on April 2, 2011 at 6:01 PM

Interesting that. You always assume they’re jiggering the sample (given, obviously), but……I just can’t imagine the “BE” being that big a factor POST election. Do you really think the percentage would be that high?

I’m sure you’ve seen this before, but I thought it was worth repeating.

“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.”

Sumpin ain’t right,the KOOL_AID is flowing from Hopey’s
VoteBack Betrayal Mountain,where for over 3 years,Changey
has Bowed,Stumbled,”Easy Buttoned”,threw Georgians under
da bus,Poland got screwed over the Missile Shield,Chavez
got a handshake,went to Canada for a `Secret NAFTA ReDeal`
before being elected,

the Libyan Lockerbie Bomber was freed,told the USSR of
Englands Nuke Warhead secrets,allowed Chinese Leader Chu,
to walk all over him,allowed a Chinese ‘Patriotic Win over
the West Chinese Song to be played at the White House,and
either sympathetic,or sheer ‘CLUELESSNESS’,on his part,

has thrown Israel under da bus,and demanded they stop buil
ing homes on their very own land,and has allowed Iran,to go
the way of the ‘Manhattan Project’,essentially a factory set
up of mass NUCLEAR WARHEAD PRODUCTION,which is acom`n!!

20% have no idea what day of the week it is. 20% know exactly what obama is doing and are for it…government employees/parasites. 60% understand and don’t like it. EVERY poll will reflect this split…that’s why they are 100% worthless…though followed closely by some.

The media in America, for the most part, exist to guarantee the power of Obama and the liberal Democrats. That’s not a free democratic society. We’re really in no position to sneer at Russia or Venezuela or any other corrupt tyranny because we’ve got almost the exact same thing here, just less violently repressive at the moment.

Django on April 2, 2011 at 6:03 PM

If the Republican party wasn’t into all this “above the fray” crap, they could have mounted a huge PR campaign to totally discredit the media and had massive success. The media would have no choice but to rehabilitate itself and present the news in a fair and balanced manner. So if the media is acting like the media in the Soviet Union did, it’s the Republican’s fault for letting them get away with it.

Can you name me one Republican politician who has used an interview with a media talking head as an opportunity to blast them over the media’s double standard in regards to blaming the shooting of Gabby Giffords on Tea Party anger and incivility, while ignoring the violent rhetoric and mafia tactics of public union supporters? If not, then there’s your answer for why things are the way they are.

The republican establishment may not be smart enough to effectively inform the voter public that 2.3 million people have “dropped out of the workforce” and thus have provided the illusion of improving employment. However, someone (Trump, for example) will have the smarts and savvy to paint a clear picture of our economic fortunes.

2010 was just a warm up. Senate has 23 democrats defending their jobs in 2012. Harry becomes a non-factor as minority leader. The executive branch keeps being tossed around as if Obama is going to be tough to beat. Right up until the final weeks of the Carter-Reagan campaign, Jimmy Carter was going to be tough to beat. All the money in the world couldn’t have helped Jimmah. Ditto to our vacationer-in-chief.

The republican establishment won’t screw it up because no one will listen to them or take them seriously. Don’t believe me? Just grab some popcorn and pull up a seat for 2012. Americans have had enough. No more bullying from unions. No more irresponsible spending and deficits. No more lies. No more bizarre foreign policy moves. No more socialism. We’ve had enough and the political establishment better take notice.

“Are you lookin’ at me? Did you rub my lamp? Did you wake me up? Did you bring me here? And all of a sudden, you’re walkin’ out on me?! I don’t think so, not right now! YOU’RE GETTIN’ YOUR WISHES, SO SIDDOWN!!”

This was all contrived in some secret meeting at the White House in order to get his numbers up. War = popularity and a people united. With this, and pressure from Europe, we got sucked into a disastrous civil war in which we chose the losing side. He didn’t make an official press conference or put himself before Congress because he didn’t want to anger his left-wing base. He’s trying to have the best of both worlds here, both a reluctant “thinking” humanitarian as well as a pro-interventionist war-hawk who is finding out whose ass to kick.

Alternative Headline: Obama’s Least Bad Ratings Come on Foreign PolicyAnd the reason is clear: Americans know he is an incompetent jackass on everything having to do with our lives, but some of us will give him the benefit of the doubt on how bad he’s screwing up the rest of the world.

The most amazing stat–which lends credence to the Bradley Effect Theory–is that he scores 40% or lower on 3 of 5 categories, with a high of 46–and yet pulls a 47% overall.

Americans are either liars, stupid or–can’t admit they made a terrible mistake.

rwenger43 on April 2, 2011 at 11:43 PM

This is why I believe that any Republican nominee who can allow Americans to save face for their self-exonerating non-racist vote in 2008 while still clearly articulating the disastrous effects of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid machine will win 2012 in a landslide, re-election history be damned. The country could be red from PA to NV with a 400-140 result in the Electoral College.

Even some of the mainstream news outlets have lost their fervor and, I believe, are simply biden their time to influence voters toward the conservative side. If you are Jake Tapper or others on the WH beat, you don’t want to show your disillusionment in a non-election year or you could end up sacrificing your privileged position unnecessarily.

But once the 2012 race heats up, I think some of the press will look for their opportunity for redemption. God knows any of them with a shred of integrity need it.